daughter willow, until she dropped off. steven tyler admitted to spending $5 million to $6 million on drugs. and if you wanted to see the stars of rocky and raging bull duke it out. sylvester stallone and robert deniro are currently filming a boxing movie. i thought adele looked great. >> she looked stunning and i thought jennifer hudson looked fantastic. this is "first look" on msnbc. stay tuned "way too early" starts right now. ♪

a big night at the ors oscars, ben affleck and "argo" takes home the academy awards' top honors. they were told by none other than first lady michelle obama. she's pretty busy. she did fallon awith mom dancin. this is "way too early." before we get to the other top news of the world, we want to recap last night's academy awards. argo beat films like "lincoln" and silver linings playbook. a bit of redemption for affleck who was passed over best director, which went to ang lee for "lie of pi." "lincoln," though, had its day in the sun, as daniel day-lewis

earned his third academy award for best actor. jennifer lawrence might have enjoyed her best actress win for "silver linings playbook" if she hadn't take an spill on her way to the stage. she didn't let that incident get her down. >> thank you. you guys are just standing up because you felt bad that i fell. this is nuts. >> she is amazing. second nomination. she's just 22 years old. rounding out the list of awards, anne hathaway took the prize for best supporting actress for "les miserables." and christoph waltz won his second supporting actor. as for the host, reviews are in. it's a mixed bag for seth macfarlane. "time" magazine calls him "american dud." but the washington post thought that he proved his worth calling

him a "versatilite host." we'll show you ben affleck's rambling acceptance speech. but first, let's get to the news, here, live at 5:30 a.m. we begin overseas, where afghan president karzai gets his way, american special forces will be banned from a key area in the country within two weeks. it follows allegations from karzai's government that afghans working we let u.s. troops are responsible for the kidnapping, torture and killing of villagers in twest of kabul. in the wardak province. the ban raises new questions, though, about the u.s.-led

mission in afghanistan where the on coalition has been relying heavily on special forces as american troops are withdrawing from the fight. president obama has ordered of course 34,000 u.s. forces out of afghanistan by this time next year, the combat mission is scheduled to end by 2014. as some americans leave the fight, the u.s. is increasingly dependent on unmanned aircraft to target terrorism. gibbs made it clear, keep mum on the program. >> when i went through the process of becoming press secretary, they told you're not to acknowledge the drone program, don't discuss that it exists. what's crazy about that proposition, you're being asked a question based on reporting on

a program that exists. what the president has seen, our denial our existence of the program when it's obviously happening, under mimine people' confidence that their government makes. john kerry is facing a major diplomatic challenge as secretary of state. a key conference with syrian opposition leaders threatening to absolutely come apart. opponents of president assad are considering a boycott of thursday's planned meeting with kerry and other diplomats in rome because of a perceived lack of international support for rebel forces. kerry has not said whether president obama would consider extending aid to syrian rebels beyond items like computers and radios. this latest diplomatic setback comes as rebel forces moved on a

government complex and a police academy near the northern city of aleppo. meanwhile back here at home, officials on the state level are trying to prepare for those across the board spending cuts that are set to kick in friday. the se quest ration would slash $85 billion from the budget. president obama will meet with the nation's governors at the white house today after the administration rolled out new details over the weekend describing what impact the cuts will have all across the can country. effects include tens of thousands of jobs lost, fewer resources for education and the environment. some say that the white house is more interested in scaring people than finding a solution. >> senator coburn, is the president exaggerating the impact of these cuts? >> absolutely. it's a terrible way to cut spending. i don't disagree with that.

but, to not cut 2.5% out of the total budget over a year where it's twice the size it was ten years ago, give me a break. >> for members of the president's cabinet however, the sequester means big changes in areas that can least afford it. >> there are literally teachers now who are getting pink slips, getting notices that they can't come back this fall. >> we're not making this up in order to put pain on the american people. we're required to cut $1 billion. >> also this week, congress is expected to begin consideration of new gun legislation, after weeks of bipartisan negotiations between senators chuck schumer and the democratic party and coburn with the republicans, talks have focused on expanding background checks and increasing penalties for those who purchase guns for criminals. any bill that infringes on

lawful gun owners eye right will be rejected. senator tom coburn. >> if they want to eliminate the benefits of actually trying to prevent the sales to people who are mentally and criminal, they need to create recordkeeping and this will kill this bill. if you want to improve it, you have to eliminate the recordkeeping and give people the right and responsibility to do the right thing and that's check on the next list to make sure you're not selling the gun in one of those two categories. >> nra vice president and ceo wayne lapierre took on the white house today. he said, it's been the obama's administration's plan all along to confiscate guns through universal background checks. >> the media called me crazy when i said that given a second

term obama would come after our guns. okay. i was wrong. he did it before his second term even official le begun. he tried to do it. at the very heart of their anti-gun agenda is what they call universal background checks. don't you be fooled. there is nothing universal, nor responsible, about it. it's aimed at registering your guns. and, when another tragic opportunity presents itself, that registry will be used to confiscate your guns. >> let's move back overseas, where oscar mipistorius spent t weekend out of jail and on bail. the track star remain indoors much of the weekend still new developments in this case.

his brother, carl pistorius faces charges of negligent homicide from a 2008 car accident when he hit a woman biker with his car. it's not uncommon for charges to be dropped and reinstated. as the lead investigator in the reeva steenkamp found out last week, hilton botha was removed from an incident back in 2011. this week marks pope benedict's last as head of the catholic church. he gave his final sunday blessing to a crowd of 100,000 followers yesterday in st. peter's square, saying that he will continue to serve god. his second to last public appearance as pope. he'll step down from the papacy thursday evening. the first pope to do so in 600 years but even in his final days as pope benedict can't escape

the controversies that consumed much of his papacy. through a spokesman o'brien denies the charges is seeking legal counsel as always, why are you awake? shoot us an e-mail. or tweet us or me at bshactman >> still ahead on way too early -- the new york yankees suffer a major setback, curtis granderson hit by a pitch in his very first plate appearance. plus -- >> i want to acknowledge steven spielberg. >> i want to thank canada. our friends in iran.

>> he's a really jacked up. ben affleck might have been snubbed for best director nomination, but he had plenty to say when his film "argo" took best picture. iraq launched a devastating schedule missile attack on saudi arabia. one.

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did you see mr. clean disinfecting bath cleaner killing that bacteria yesterday, just flaunting it? and did you see the magic eraser clean up that crazy kitchen mess? it was like super dirty, super clean. how? wish i hadn't. [ sniffs ] what's that amazing smell? it's mr. clean with the amazing scent of gain. wow! you know, if i had a team, you'd be on it. [ gasps ] our mascot could be a cleanosarus rex. you're off the team. [ male announcer ] dirt and grime have nowhere to hide with the mr. clean clean team on your side. creeping up on to 5:44 a.m. on the eastern part of the united states. rockefeller plaza here. we're creeping to tend of february.

let's go to nbc meteorologist dylan dreyer in for bill karins. >> yesterday, it felt like winter is over. by tend of the day, not over. >> the good news for the northeast, we'll be in the 40s, even inched towards 50 degrees by the time we get to wednesday. it comes with rain. we got another blizzard across portions of the plains, this is the second one in just a week. we're looking at the potential for another foot of snow in portions of texas up into oklahoma. and you can see the winter storm watches extend all of the way up into chicago and the great lakes region. for right now, it's heavy snow falling across the panhandles of texas and oklahoma. we have some severe storms with this system. especially moving through central texas and also the gulf

coast states where we could see some stronger thunderstorms as we go into this afternoon. closer look at the heavier snow, shades of blue in amarillo, that's where the heaviest of the snow is falling. they could get up to a foot of snow. some parts of oklahoma could end up with 18 inches of snow. so, it is a one-two punch, certainly for the plains and the midwest, too. >> all right, dylan, thank you very much. let's go to sports now. lebron and the heat, at home, against the cavaliers. second quarter, heat forced the turnover. take it the other way. mario chalmers, lebron james for the dunk. the heat take a 12-point lead over lebron's old team. in the third quarter, the heat go on a run. technical against miami coach erik spoelstra and the cavs up by one.

heat clinging to a one-point lead. with authority there, that would be dwyane wade. the heat hang on to win, 111-105. baseball. yankees taking on the blue jays in a spring training game. curtis granderson gets drilled right in the forearm. x-rays reveal a fractured right arm and granderson will be on the shelf for at least ten weeks, that puts him out until early may, early candidates to replace him include matt diaz and juan rivera. more from the world of baseball, where apparently selling off world series memorabilia is a bit of a trend these days. curt schilling's famed bloody sock sold for $92,000. that's a little bitless than expected. a lot of money for a crusty bloody sock.

now alex rodriguez's cousin is auctioning off his world series ring. there are 39 days until the auction. the highest bid is more than $30,000. a-rod has made a couple of millions, maybe a-rod doesn't like the guy because of the whole steroid thing. couple of college baseball teams got after it. fisticuffs. a little animosity. uc-riverside and sacramento trading punches during the game. three players were ejected. all three players will be suspended four games apiece. always good television, but give me a break, guys. settle down. it's spring. we're not even in march. let's go to racetrack.

jimmie johnson taking the checkered flag at the daytona 500. it's his first win at the great american race since 2006. the tenth driver in history with multiple wins at daytona. but johnson's win somewhat overshadowed by danica patrick, the green card, first-ever woman to lead a lap at daytona. she finished the race in eighth. she was in third toward the end of the race. coming up at top of the hour on "morning joe" -- afghan president plans to ban elite u.s. special forces from a critical part. whether this could lead to a quicker withdraw of american forces. when we come back here -- what are we going to do? we're going to huddle around the water cooler, watch the big moments from last night's oscars and we're going to break down

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. now, for the moment we have all been waiting for -- and the oscar goes to -- "argo."

congratulations. >> that was pretty cool. first lady michelle obama making a surprise guest appearance from the white house to announce the best picture category. let's hit the water cooler now to break down your academy awards recap. mixed reviews for first-time host seth macfarlane. he had an awkward start. he had an odd original song "we saw your boobs." then william shatner shows up on a huge screen dressed as captain kirk to offer seth some help. here's a look. >> argo tells the previously classified the story about an american hostage rescue in iran. it was so top-secret, the film's director is unknown to the

academy. jennifer lawrence has a great attitude about this whole thing. this is a charming, talented woman. i was talking to her backstage, she told me whether she wins or loses, it's just an honor that meryl streep wasn't nominated. django unchained. now, that was an intense film. [ applause ] >> this is the story of a man fighting to get back his woman. who's been subjected to unthinkable violence. or as chris brown and rihanna call it, a date movie. oh. this is interesting daniel day-lewis not the first actor to be playing lincoln. raymond massey portrayed in illinois. this is true. yeah. i would argue, however that the actor who really got inside lincoln's head was john wilkes

booth. 150 years and it's still too soon. >> wow. that's probably 150 years and too soon for that joke. the theme last night was the music. "les miserables" the whole cast performed songs from the film and jennifer hudson sang a flawless version of one of the hits. there's ted. the talking stuffed bear from seth's film presented a war. daniel day-lewis making history, becoming the first actor to win the best actor three times. in addition to his win for portraying lincoln, he won in 1990 and in 2008. after such a serious role in "lincoln" his speech was surprisingly funny. >> this is a strange thing. three years ago, um, before we

decided to do a straight swap, i had actually committed to play margaret thatcher. um -- [ laughter ] >> and meryl was -- was steven's first choice for lincoln. i would like to see that version. >> ben affleck's speech last night was another one of our favorites while accepting argo's win for best picture, he was overcome for emotion and just started to ramble on. >> i thank everyone on the movie. i want to thank canada. our friends in iran living in a terrible circumstances right now. i want to thank my wife, who i don't normally associate with iran. but, um, i want to thank for

you. working on our marriage for ten christmases. it is work. but it's the best kind of work and there's no one i would rather work for. i was here 15 years ago or something and i, um, i had no idea what i was doing. i was really just a kid. i went out and i never thought that i would be back here. and i am. it doesn't matter how you get knocked down in life that's going to happen. all that matters is that you got to get up. [ applause ] >> referencing 15 years ago when he won for original screenplay back in 1988. he thanked canada that usually gets blamed. still ahead -- why are you awake? and "morning joe" just moments

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